Tra từ distinguish - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

dis·tin·guish [distinguish distinguishes distinguished distinguishing] BrE [dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ] NAmE [dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ] verb
1. intransitive, transitive to recognize the difference between two people or things
Syn: ↑differentiate
•~ between A and B At what age are children able to distinguish between right and wrong?
• English law clearly distinguishes between murder and manslaughter.
•~ A from B It was hard to distinguish one twin from the other.
•~ A and B Sometimes reality and fantasy are hard to distinguish.
•We can distinguish five meanings of the word ‘mad’.
2. transitive (not used in the progressive tenses)~ A (from B) to be a characteristic that makes two people, animals or things different
• What was it that distinguished her from her classmates?
• The male bird is distinguished from the female by its red beak.
•Does your cat have any distinguishing marks?
•The power of speech distinguishes human beings from animals.
3. transitive (not used in the progressive tenses)~ sth to be able to see or hear sth
Syn: ↑differentiate, Syn: ↑make out
• I could not distinguish her words, but she sounded agitated.
• She could not distinguish the make and colour of the car in the fading light.
4. transitive ~ yourself (as sth) to do sth so well that people notice and admire you
•She has already distinguished herself as an athlete.
Derived Word: ↑distinguishable
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
late 16th cent.: formed irregularly from French distinguer or Latin distinguere, from dis- ‘apart’ + stinguere ‘put out’ (from a base meaning ‘prick’).

Thesaurus:
distinguish verb
1. I, T
•It was hard to distinguish one twin from the other.
tell • |especially written differentiate •
distinguish/differentiate/tell A from B
distinguish/differentiate between A and B
clearly/sharply/carefully distinguish/differentiate sb/sth
Distinguish or differentiate? Differentiate is more formal, used more in scientific matters than in matters of human judgement:
•At what are are children able to distinguish between right and wrong?
✗ differentiate between right and wrong
2. T
•What is is that distinguishes her from her classmates?
set sb/sth apart • |especially written differentiate •
distinguish/set apart/differentiate A from B
a feature distinguishes/sets apart/differentiates A from B
a factor distinguishes/differentiates A from B

Example Bank:
•It is often difficult to distinguish clearly between fact and fiction in this book.
•She could not distinguish one child from another.
•Small children have difficulty distinguishing fiction from reality.
•The adult bird can be readily distinguished by its orange bill.
•Troops cannot always reliably distinguish between combatants and civilians.
•Retailers should distinguish clearly between full-price and sale items.